Shell Canada joins governments in clean energy centre
The Canadian unit of Anglo-Dutch major Shell is joining with the governments of BC and Canada in a C$105mn (US$83mn) investment to launch the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy, BC premier John Horgan said July 16.
Shell Canada, BC and Canada will each commit C$35mn to the Centre, which will initially focus on funding and project delivery in the areas of carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), development of a low-carbon hydrogen sector, biofuels and synthetic fuels, renewable natural gas (RNG) and battery technology, energy storage and energy management systems.
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“Shifting from our reliance on fossil fuels to low-carbon energy requires an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Horgan said. “That’s why we are working together with industry and government partners to create a centre for innovation and clean energy that will build on BC’s strengths as a climate leader.”
The centre will bring together innovators, industry, governments and academics to accelerate the commercialisation and scale-up of BC-based clean-energy technologies. It will also be a catalyst for new partnerships and world-leading innovation to deliver near- and longer-term carbon emission reductions.
“Rising to meet the challenge of global climate change requires joint action from business and government to help scale up cleaner energy solutions,” Shell Canada president and country chair Susannah Pierce said. “As a company that has operated in Canada for 110 years, we are keen to invest in low-carbon projects aligned with Shell’s target to become a net-zero emission energy business by 2050, in step with society.”
BC and Shell Canada’s investments in the centre will leverage additional public and private-sector investments and participation, while the federal government has committed to invest up to C$35mn “for the centre’s innovative projects.”
Scheduled to launch later this year, the centre will be established as a member-based, non-profit corporation operating independently of its government and corporate sponsors. Its intent is to attract a wide range of companies and partners that share a common focus on low-carbon innovation and scaling up BC-based clean energy technologies, like the direct air capture and synthetic fuels technologies being developed by Squamish-based Carbon Engineering.
“As a BC clean-tech company working to commercialise critical climate technologies, we applaud this initiative and those like it that support innovators in scaling their solutions,” Carbon Engineering CEO Steve Oldham said. “Domestic deployment of clean-energy solutions, like Carbon Engineering’s carbon removal and synthetic fuel technologies, will create high-quality Canadian jobs, demand for Canadian materials and equipment, and significant emissions reductions to help meet our net-zero goals.”